Out of all the beautiful persons I have known, I could say that for me, she is the most beautiful. Dette definitely tops my list of firsts: my first sister, first best friend, first bike buddy and almost all the first experiences I’ve had when we were kids. I am so lucky to have shared it with her. I am looking forward to see her soon. 🙂

Photo of my number one, my über beautiful sister, au naturel taken by our good and loving friend, Trixie.

This is me crossing the raging waters in Mt. Sicapoo for the very first time. I am a newbie that time and climbing a mountain with a 9/9 difficulty rate is indeed a miracle for me. I am humbled by the whole experience, knowing that it is not an easy feat. Of all the mountains I have climbed to date, Mt. Sicapoo is the most slippery. I do not have the confidence and strength to pursue the climb. The weakling in me feels so strong and I felt like giving up. But then I gave it a shot and I have learned to relax when faced with a difficult situation. The rest after this adventure is history.

If we compare climbing a steep mountain to life, we would notice that getting to the top (destination/summit) is difficult especially the journey (river crossings, trails, etc.). Life is never easy but if we hold on, focus, strive harder and believe that we could surpass the challenges thrown upon us, we really could do it and we would get what we wanted. It is not just crossing the river that I have learned but also crossing the different paths the world is offering to us. While the journey is always hard, getting to the destination makes the experience worthwhile.

Even if there are no words spoken, the power of touch transcends care and compassion. This blue jacket is one of the things I have put inside the relief goods bag that I have donated last month to Typhoon Haiyan victims. The jacket has a soft texture and is nice to touch.

I hope the recipient would feel being taken cared of and special when he/she gets this because this jacket is one of my favorite items (because of the color). Some folks say that we should not give our favorite items especially if it is sentimental to us or it has a special meaning. But knowing that the recipient could use and appreciate it more than I do, I did not have second thoughts of giving it right away. Also, we should be giving/donating gifts that are still useful and presentable. Many people donate stuff that are really old and damaged and this is a big mistake. Because of such gestures, the true meaning of giving is lost. When we give something, it should be given out of love. ❤

A spur of the moment post, when me and my colleague are playing my lego figurines just to distress. If you look closely you would see a fat lady dressed as a geisha with two men guarding her in prison (Napoles pork barrel scam in the Philippines), men who are victims in Syria and a man stuck in an island with a turtle. The man symbolizes a politician or a leader of any country who is more concerned about his own benefit rather than the benefit of his people.

The image shows my perspective on why I do not want to go back to my country — at least for now. 😦

I am an adult or so I thought. I hope these photos would make you smile and would make you want to capture funny, priceless, endearing moments. A cheesy cliché but it makes sense when you feel your world is too heavy or harsh. Funny photos bring out the kid in you, would make you remember that life is indeed good. So, cheer up!

I may be overreacting but I am euphoric that I have found a way to cope with stress. In this image, I am playing with my team mate, Celeste. I cannot find the right word more apt to describe this act, but PLAY. In the midst of our UAT, deployment chaos and unreasonable deadlines, stress is not evident in our faces. To appease ourselves, we played the magic ball of fire in my mac.

The ball was so fast and we want to catch it so we can have a good shot. The plan was to catch the ball the moment it landed on the middle of the screen.

And then, it went down. Oh my ball, oh my ball! We both screamed, as if scream is the right word to use. What I am sure of is we were both squealing and giggling. There is a happy thump in my heart and this time, I really felt it.

It seems like the ball does not want to be caught at all. Are we going to give up? A big NO. Even if this just a play, giving up is not in our vocabulary. Look at how my friend gamely posed for these photos. All candid shots, no revisions or Photoshop.

To touch the ball was like heaven to me. Hahaha, what a hyperbole of a moment! Let us talk about capturing awesome moments like these!

Finally, the ball landed to her! She is the winner but there is no contest. This is the first time we did this “thing” and we somehow felt like fools. After all, we are big kids with big responsibilities. I cannot thank her enough for giving in to my childish ways but I am grateful she opted to play with me. What is life without friends? I would rather not know.

If this is not TEAM WORK, I do not know what is!

Note: Thanks to my cool and loving team mate for bearing with me. It is hard to find a team mate who is a nice person on a personal and professional level. My heartfelt thanks, Cel. 🙂